The EconomistAugust 24th 2019 Asia 41W
hite and redwere the colours of the
day. It was August 17th, the anniversa-
ry of Indonesia’s liberation from the Dutch,
and tvscreens showed the national flag,
with its red and white stripes, billowing
across the country. But in Surabaya, a city
in eastern Java, one flag lay in the gutter.
Responding to allegations that someone
had torn down an Indonesian flag the day
before and then retreated to a dormitory
housing university students from Papua
(the Indonesian part of New Guinea), po-
lice fired tear gas into the building before
barging in and arresting 43 residents. As
they were rounded up, a jeering mob is said
to have called the Papuans, who tend to
have darker skin than most other Indone-
sians, “monkeys”.
The next day, thousands of people took
to the streets in cities across Papua, block-
ing roads and burning tyres. In Sorong they
vandalised the airport and set fire to a pri-
son (258 prisoners escaped). In Manokwari,
the capital of West Papua province, they
burned shops and the provincial parlia-
ment. In addition to holding banners read-
ing “We’re Papuans, not monkeys”, protes-
ters waved the Morning Star flag, a symbol
of Papuan nationalism, and chanted: “We
are not white and red, we are Morning Star”.
As The Economistwent to press on August
22nd, the protests had not abated.
In a statement about the protests Benny
Wenda, a Papuan separatist, linked the
struggle against racism to the fight for in-
dependence. Papua remained a Dutch colo-
ny after the rest of Indonesia became inde-
pendent in 1945. It was only in 1969 that it
voted to join Indonesia in a referendum.
But the vote was a sham: out of a popula-
tion of some 800,000, the Indonesian
army selected just 1,026 people to take part.
Indonesian security forces have tried to
suppress a tiny separatist movement, often
with brutal tactics. Widespread unrest hasbeen rare—up to now.
Veronica Koman, a human-rights law-
yer, believes these protests mark a new
chapter in the liberation movement. She
cites the sheer intensity of the protesters’
anger, and the power of videos of the prot-
ests on social media to convince Indone-
sians of Papuans’ commitment to their
cause. A few politicians are showing some
sensitivity: the governor of East Java prov-ince apologised for the racism in Surabaya,
and President Joko Widodo announced
plans to visit Papua. But the communica-
tions minister shut down the internet in
certain parts of Papua, ostensibly to pre-
vent false rumours fanning unrest, while
the minister for security blamed the prot-
ests on “negative news”. On August 20th ex-
tra troops were deployed to Papua. Morn-
ing Star flags were there to greet them. 7JAKARTA
Violent protests mark a turning point
for a restive regionRacism in IndonesiaIndependence day
BRUNEITIMOR-LESTEAUSTRALIAPA P U A
NEW
GUINEAPHILIPPINES
MALAYSIAINDONESIAWest
PapuaEast
JavaJakarta PapuaManokwari
SorongSurabaya1,000 kmF
or taiwan, thereisnothinglikean
American president who is not squea-
mish about outraging China. Even before
he took office Donald Trump stirred
indignation in Beijing by answering a
congratulatory phone call just after his
election from Tsai Ing-wen, the presi-
dent of Taiwan. (China saw this as a
breach of the “one-China principle”,
under which it demands that countries
that maintain diplomatic ties with it do
not also have them with Taiwan, which it
views as part of China.) He recently
allowed Ms Tsai one of the longest visits
to America ever granted to a Taiwanese
president, and sold Taiwan tanks and
anti-aircraft missiles worth $2.2bn. But
this week Mr Trump took a step that
China will see as an even bigger affront.
On August 18th Mr Trump decided to
sell Taiwan 66 newf-16 fighter jets. The
sale, worth $8bn, still needs congressio-
nal approval. But leading Republicans
and Democrats alike have championed it,
seeing Taiwan as a bulwark against Chi-
na’s growing assertiveness in South-East
Asia and the Pacific.
The fleet of new f-16s will boost Tai-
wan’s ageing air force, but hardly tip the
military balance against China’s increas-
ingly powerful armed forces. The real
power they embody is that of a psycho-
logical shock for the one-party state
across the strait. The last time America
sold fighter jets to Taiwan was in 1992.
Taiwan first asked America for
more f-16s in 2006, under the previous
president from Ms Tsai’s Democratic
Progressive Party, which typically has
especially testy relations with China. His
successor, Ma Ying-jeou, of the more
China-friendly party, the Kuomintang
(kmt), reiterated the request. But China
persuaded the administrations of both
George W. Bush and Barack Obama to
refuse. During Mr Obama’s presidency in
particular, China portrayed the sale of
f-16s as a red line. It never tires of re-
minding America that in 1982 it promisedtoreducearmssalestoTaiwan.
Ms Tsai, who is campaigning for
re-election in early 2020, was delighted
with the news. Her campaign presents
her as a foil to an ever more repressive,
assertive China. Her kmtchallenger,
Han Kuo-yu, whom critics accuse of
being too cosy with China, also applaud-
ed Mr Trump’s decision and pledged to
deepen military ties with America if
elected. Arthur Ding, of National Cheng-
chi University, thinks the deal, despite its
hefty price tag, will fly swiftly through
the sometimes combative legislature.
China was not so happy. A spokes-
woman for the foreign ministry said on
August 16th that American arms sales
“severely violate the one-China princi-
ple”. But it is not clear if it plans anything
more than a rhetorical response, such as
suspending military exchanges with
America. The impact on other disputes
between the two countries—over trade,
for example, or the protests in Hong
Kong—is also uncertain.Tsai’sprize
America and TaiwanTAIPEI
America defies China with a big arms deal for TaiwanExpect fireworks